Central Fife will be hit by Brexit, warns Gilruth

Report findings concerns MSP

FIFE will be one of the worst hit areas by Brexit with 14% of locals deemed to be in vulnerable communities, new analysis from the Scottish Government has found and Kinglassie MSP Jenny Gilruth fears that many local families will suffer.

Published this week, ‘The Local Level Brexit Vulnerabilities in Scotland Report’ found that urban areas with substantial rural areas, such as Fife, have significant populations at risk from the fallout of leaving the EU – with or without a trade deal.

The analysis considers local community’s access to services, working age population, income deprivation, workers in Brexit-sensitive industries, EU worker migration and how many EU payments are received.

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), also published this week, found the UK is already £60 billion worse off as a result of Brexit before we have even left the EU - with the UK economy 2.5-3% smaller than it otherwise would have been.

Kinglassie MSP Jenny Gilruth, said: “We always knew that Brexit would be damaging to Scotland but this new analysis really hits home the devastating impact that Brexit will have here in Fife.

“Families across the Central Fife area will feel the impact of Brexit, with up to 14% of the local population most vulnerable to the potential economic shock.

“The SNP Government will continue to do what it can to mitigate and minimise the impact on our most vulnerable communities, but this study lays bare the recklessness of the Tories in their blind determination to peruse Brexit at any cost".

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